Quiz: Jane Addams: Love is a Doing Word
Jane Addams: Love is a Doing Word
By: Nathan Chandler
Image: Wiki Commons
Jane Addams acted on her most honorable impulses and helped to create powerful tools for social change. How much do you know about Addams and her American crusades?
Jane Addams was born in 1860. She was best known for doing what?
marrying celebrity men
her life in political office
Addams was a prominent social reformer who dedicated her life to raising up the less fortunate. She was passionate about helping people even from a very young age.
What were the circumstances of Addams's family when she was a child?
they had money
they were broke
they were homeless
Her father was a successful miller and became a state senator. He made more than enough money to support his nine children.
What happened to her mother?
she ran away
her father divorced her mother
she died when Jane was young
When Jane was just 2, her mother died. Her father later remarried to a widow.
Jane's father died suddenly of appendicitis. How much money did she inherit from him?
about $8,000
about $50,000
about $2 million
Jane and her living siblings each received roughly $50,000, which would be worth more than $1 million today. She decided to put the money to good use.
Addams was born with which physical problem?
spinal defect
missing fingers
hemophilia
She had a spinal defect that limited her physical abilities as a child. When she was in college, she had surgery, but the operation only did so much to improve her health.
She was full of ideas for her future. What did Addams study in college?
She spent years taking medical courses. But her own poor physical and emotional health meant that she never completed that particular degree.
In the late 1880s, Addams was inspired to do what?
take medical courses
take up feminism
create a settlement house
As a wealthy young woman, she felt rather … useless. She read about the concept of settlement houses and decided that she wanted to create one in Illinois.
What's a "settlement house"?
a food bank
a homeless shelter
a place meant to assist low-income people
The idea was simple. Create a "settlement" house in areas with low-income people and help them with their lives. The concept first took root in London, and Addams was eager to start a similar house in Chicago.
Addams was a homosexual.
She had multiple lesbian relationships in her adult life. She spent roughly four decades with a woman named Mary Smith.
What was the name of the settlement house that Addams helped to found?
Null House
Heart House
It was called "Hull House" after the building's first owner. She opened the building with the help of Ellen Gates Starr, with whom she developed a romantic relationship.
Hull House was associated with which church?
no church
Addams and Starr decided to make Hull House a secular organization. It didn't have any ties to churches.
How was the settlement house concept received in Chicago?
it was roundly rejected
no one knew what to make of it
it blossomed
The idea took off. Addams and Starr soon found success. About 10 years later, there were 100 settlement houses across the country, and 35 in Chicago alone.
In spite of her homosexuality, Addams actually married a man.
She had a few long-term relationships but essentially thought of herself as married to Mary Smith, who was very supportive of Addams' work.
The Hull House was a rundown property when Addams and Starr moved in. How did they manage to fix it up?
Addams paid for repairs
they enlisted wealthy donors
they asked the mayor for help
That big inheritance that Addams received from her father? She used it to renovate the house and turn it into a beacon of community hope in a neighborhood beset by poverty.
Within two years, how many people were visiting Hull House each week?
about 2,000
The idea immediately caught fire and the locals were taken with the two passionate young crusaders. Just two years into the experiment, about 2,000 people were visiting each week.
Addams said that there were three ethical principles driving settlement homes. What was NOT one of those principles?
teach by example
practice cooperation
practice community health care
Health care was a concern, of course, but her guiding principles were to practice cooperation, teach by example and enact true democracy regardless of class, gender, and other variables.
Hull House was especially geared towards which members of society?
homeless men
abused women
The House helped everyone, but its programs were particularly tuned to helping disadvantaged children. There were all sorts of opportunities to help children learn and play.
Addams was politically active during the time of Prohibition. What were her feelings on alcohol?
she despised alcohol
she thought moderate drinking was fine
she supported Prohibition
Addams was a supporter of Prohibition, not necessarily out of a prudish impulse but simply because she saw substances ruin the lives of many people.
As the Hull House developed, Addams and Starr began emphasizing which activities?
The two founders felt that art was a good support system for life in general. Hull House provided locals with many art activities, in addition to general recreation.
The Hull House became a hub for what activity?
violent political activity
Many adults took night classes at Hull House, which eventually turned into a major focal point for education in the community.
In 1912, Addams published a book on which topic?
The book was titled "A New Conscience and Ancient Evil," and it regarded prostitution as a social ill that needed to be corrected. She was convinced that no woman willingly participated in the activity.
In 1894, Addams became an inspector in charge of what?
garbage collection practices
allegations of domestic abuse
She was named a garbage collection inspector and given a $1,000-per-year salary. She helped to guide better garbage collection practices, which lowered rates of disease and improved quality of life.
When Addams and Starr first opened Hull House, they saw it becoming a major, sprawling operation.
They had very modest plans, simply hoping to support the community in small ways. In the end, Hull House became a major operation that set an example for social organizations all over the country.
Addams was an adamant supporter of women's voting rights. Why?
she wanted her daughter to be able to vote
she wanted to pass specific legislation
she was a woman, duh
Addams felt that women really understood her social mission, and she needed female support to pass various bits of legislation. It's why she was an ardent supporter of suffrage.
Why was Addams expelled from the organization called Daughters of the American Revolution?
she was a lesbian
she criticized the president
she hated war
As World War I bore down on America, Addams was steadfastly in favor of peace, in large part because she thought conflict would hurt her reform activities. The Daughters of the American Revolution reacted by kicking out their celebrity member.
After the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, how did Addams respond?
she remained a pacifist
she became a supporter
she moved to Canada
She was steadfastly against the war and remained a pacifist. She didn't stay on the sidelines, though. She became active in new ways.
During the war, Addams campaigned publicly for what?
labor laws for munitions workers
food aid for Europeans
medical support for wounded veterans
Addams knew that Europeans were starving due to the war. She loudly insisted that Americans produce more food to help feed Allied nations.
Addams became the very first female American to win a Nobel Prize.
Her dedication and passion earned her a hallowed place in American history. Her work also made her the first female American to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
What problem greatly affected Addams' health in 1926?
She suffered a heart attack in 1926 and was never again as vibrant as she'd once been. She died in 1935 at the age of 74.
When did Addams win the Nobel Peace Prize?
shortly after her death
In 1931, four years before she died, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was a testament to her tenacity and self-sacrifice during challenging times in American history.
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